Special Feature: The Impact Of President Trump’s Attacks On The Media

President Donald J. Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump, in effort to erode public confidence in the mainstream media, has stepped up his attacks on the free press in manners and styles uncharacteristic of any leader of the free world in recent memory, by tweeting about “fake media” 141 times from January 10 to the end of October, according to The Washington Post.

Under the cloud of this shameful moment in US presidential history, journalists are being coerced to abandon their sacred duty of objective reporting in favor of normalizing lies, racism, and personality glamorization. You’ve got to fall in line to ingratiate yourself with the chief or risk being branded as a bunch of “fake news media” entities populated by “very dishonest people.” Whether it is his anger during a press conference or meeting with a foreign leader at home or abroad, the message remains consistent – “media organizations are fake and journalists are very bad people.”

That a sitting US president could be at war with the free press at this level and at his own choosing is mesmerizing, to say the least. This situation is so alarming that respected Arizona Senator John McCain recently warned that this sort of behavior is akin to “how dictatorship starts.”

Even Fox News, Trump’s favorite cable news network and an unlikely source of any criticism for him, is at odds with the President on this one. In a live interview earlier this year, Chris Wallace, an anchor at Fox News, confronted the President, accusing him of baselessly calling the free press the enemy of the people. “We fought with (President) Obama here and there, but he never said we were the enemy of the people.”

Media News concept

But Mr. Wallace appears to be even more determined to push back on the President’s assault on the media. Delivering a speech at the International Center for Journalists in Washington, DC earlier in November, the Fox News anchor said “President Trump is engaged in the most direct, sustained assault on the free press in our history,” adding that the president “has done everything to de-legitimize the media, attacking us institutionally and individually.”

Mr. Wallace surmised that President Trump’s purpose for this concerted campaign is “to raise doubts over whether we can be trusted when we report critically about his administration.”

Africa

While the American free press is the main target at the frontline of this war, attention must be drawn to the devastating consequences it could have on the media in emerging but fragile democracies around the globe, particularly Africa.

Africa Media Impact

Most African governments are viewed as corrupt and our leaders, most often than not, take on the posture of tyrants and dictators. There can be no bigger gift to a tyrant orchestrating his next media clampdown than hearing the President of the United States refer to the free press as “the enemy of the people.”

Before the inception of the Trump administration, African journalists had always counted on Washington to come to their aid when the going got tough. And through its various agencies responsible for press freedom, human rights, justice, among others, their cry was heard and supported.

Today, however, African journalists do not see a friend in the White House. They are now the ally of the fighting forces whose powerful “general” once scared away their enemy with a simple warning; just a simple warning! But that “general” has now turned the gun on his own men who are fighting for their own lives, leaving the African continent of the forces isolated with no arsenal.

Country Map of Africa

Nonetheless, this situation as dire as it may be seen, shouldn’t be equated to the inescapable wall before an escapee. The African media should not be the subject of a permanent dependency syndrome, in the first place. The continent has a vast natural resource base capable of self sustenance without launching “Africa First” policy only to isolate the continent and deprive it of the human capital needed for modern development.

Consequently, we need our leaders to remove the continent from the claws of corruption, ineptitude, inefficiency, and bad governance. We need our leaders to exhibit a high level of fiscal discipline, political tolerance, and transparency. We need our leaders to promote press freedom and consider journalists as partners in democracy, not enemies who pursue scandals.

If our leaders cannot create the enabling environment for our development and prosperity in partnership with the media, who else can?

About the Author: James Seitua is a former Editor of the Daily Observer Newspaper in Liberia

Share this:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Published by

West African Journal Magazine

The West African Journal was a major magazine publication in the United States with a focus on the Mano River region and West Africa sub-region during the civil crises in Liberia and neighboring countries during the decades of the 1990s.
This was the period when many citizens and others in the sub-region were fleeing their homeland due to conflicts, and the magazine was a reliable source of information covering developments in the region and in the Diaspora. However, the magazine suspended publication several years ago but is now back.
It is, therefore, delightful that The West African Journal has been reactivated. The print edition of the magazine, to be published monthly and distributed in the United States, West Africa, and other parts of the world, will provide analysis of the major events of the period under review.
Due to challenges relating to availability of reading materials in the sub-region, a few hundred copies of every edition of the magazine will be distributed free of charge to libraries and reading rooms at schools and institutions of higher learning in the sub-West Africa sub-region.
The Journal covers government/politics, economics/international trade/investment and partnerships, women's issues, showcase of tourism and historic attractions in West Africa in particular, and Africa in general, as well as cover the Diaspora, entrepreneurship, among others.
The Journal also taps into growing interest in the Unites States regarding resource-rich Africa as the next frontier for global economic progress amid an increasing global competition for access to the continent’s abundant natural resources. The magazine will regularly cover bilateral and multilateral partnerships between the US/multinational agencies and Africa/individual African countries.
More importantly, in considering the danger of Climate Change and Global Warming, The Journal serves as a strong and unrelenting advocate to create international awareness regarding Climate Change, especially how West African countries and the African Continent as a whole are being negatively impacted. Through its environmental coverage, The Journal promotes education and awareness for people to be empowered.
Our experienced team of editors, reporters and feature writers are excited to bring the stories that impact politics, finance, economy, arts, health, education, climate change, women and youth issues in Africa today.
Contact
The West African Journal is registered and published in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Plans are underway to open a bureau office in Liberia, from which operations in other West African countries will be coordinated.
Our journalists, who bring decades of high engagement of news and reportage, include former BBC veteran correspondent Isaac D.E. Bantu, former Daily Observer Features Editor and publisher of the West African Journal Joe S. Kappia, and Pana Press Editor Tepitapia K. Sannah, and respected Photo journalist and editor Gregory Stemn.
These experienced and internationally-respected journalists ensure a high standard of professional journalism.
Information and inquiries for The West African Journal should be directed to the following:
Editor-in-Chief; Email: WestAfricanJournalMagazine@gmail.com
Isaac D.E. Bantu: Publishing Partner; Email: WestAfricanJournalMagazine@gmail.com
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 55053, Washington, D.C. 20040-5053 USA
Thank you.
Managing Editor
View all posts by West African Journal Magazine